During the 2 head-to-head matchups this season, Midlothian took over both the games late as back in October, Midlothian was able to off a 3rd period Keller ISD Surge when Brent Jones scored in the final minute after Keller ISD made it 3-2 with just under 3 minutes left. Back in Februrary when the Division Leaders met again, it was Joseph Dancy & Brent Jones teaming up to score at the beginning and near the end of the periods along with Daniel Deweerd to turn a 1-1 game into a 4-1 victory.
For Midlothian to win the South Division Title, they need a win over FM Marcus while Denton County needs to beat Keller ISD in regulation for the scenario to happen. Anything else and Keller ISD would clinch the South Division Title tonight.
It will be interesting to see how Denton County comes out tonight after seeing both GCISD & Mansfield ISD losing in regularization to keep their slim Playoff Hopes alive only to lose to Flower Mound in OT after coming back from 3-0 down late in the 2nd period to force OT, only to lose 4-3 where they were under 30 seconds from at least forcing a shootout.
Expect it to be all or nothing for Denton County as they would like to end the season on a high with no playoff hopes and looking to pull off a major upset to end the season, or it could be that they so devastated from last week's loss that they have nothing left for this week.
For the 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the South Division, Mansfield ISD holds the advantage as they play Southlake Carroll where a win or OT Loss would get them into the playoffs. GCISD has been falling in recent weeks as Grapevine/Colleyville has lost 4 of their last 5 games where after being in the South Division Playoff Picture for nearly the entire season has them now looking for Southlake Carroll looking to knockoff Mansfield ISD tonight as GCISD holds the Tie-Breaker as they have beaten Mansfield ISD both times they have played this season.
Back in October, both teams played in what was the highest scoring game of the season where a combined 24 goals were scored in that game where Blake Gober, Ryan Macho (4G), Trey McMillian (3G 2A) & Blake Gober (3G 1A) each had hat tricks for GCISD. Despite the loss, Mansfield ISD responded well where Spencer Erickson had an 8 Point Night (5G 3A) & Bryce Claxton had a 6 point night (2G 4A). One of the most dramitic parts of that game saw Claxton & Erickson team up on two goals in 23 seconds to get the game within one before Gober scored an unassisted goal in the final seconds to secure the 13-11 win in a game where they needed every goal scored that night.
Unfortuantley in recent weeks for GCISD, losses in 4 of their last 5 games have seen them lose 4th Place to Mansfield and now need Southlake Carroll's Help to beat Mansfield in Regulation. If they can do that, then a GCISD Regulation Win over Flower Mound would clinch the league's final playoff spot where the winner will play the North Division Champion Plano East Panthers in the Silver Tier Quarterfinals next week.
Elsewhere in the league will have a battle for the 2nd of the Gold Tier QF Round Byes as Plano West will not only look to finally fight off Dallas Jesuit who sits in 3rd but are still in position to overtake Arlington ISD for the #1 Seed in the Gold Tier Playoffs. AISD can put any fears of being taken over to bed with a win over last place Coppell tonight, if Plano West can win and Arlington ISD losses, then the Wolves will take over the #1 Spot.
The Wolves also have a tie-breaker as well after beating Arlington ISD three-out-of-four games this season where the Wolves need a victory and have Arlington ISD lose to Coppell in Overtime tonight where both teams would finish the regular season with 29 points during the regular season.
For Highland Park, Prosper & McKinney ISD, it's a battle for seeding as three teams are separated by just a point to determine 2-4 in the North Division. Unfortunately, it will be a tough matchup as they will all get caught up in the Keller ISD, Midlothian & Southlake Carroll trio that has dominated the Silver Tier all year long and will be looked as favorites when the Silver Tier Playoffs begin on March 7th.
Highland Park has kind of been stuck in a rut over the last few weeks as they barely beat teams like Frisco ISD & Bishop Lynch who are both eliminated from playoff contention and even got beat by Garland ISD who has the area's worst record (Gold or Silver Tier) this season.
Only 2 games throughout the area tonight have nothing on the line for tonight. Those are Garland ISD VS. Frisco ISD over in McKinney and Bishop Lynch VS. Richardson/Rockwall in Farmers Branch with teams that are either out of the playoffs or hve teams witht heir playoff seed already locked in. The rest of the games have teams that are either looking to get in or at least looking to improve their seeding situation when the playoffs begin next week.
For the HS Gold Tier Champions, they will advance and repersent Texas at the USA Hockey HS National Championship in Salt Lake City from March 21-25. While the Top Silver Tier Teams will join the top HS Teams from Houston & Austin at the State HS Silver Tier Championship from March 23-25 in a location yet TBD.
Here's a look at tonight's Schedule for the AT&T Metroplex HS Hockey League Regular Season Finale.
Gold Tier
Coppell VS. Arlington ISD 7:00 PM @ Euless Stars Center
Dallas Jesuit VS. Plano Senior 7:00 PM @ McKinney Stars Center
Allen VS. Plano West 8:45 PM @ McKinney Stars Center
Silver Tier
Keller ISD VS. Denton County 6:30 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center
McKinney ISD VS. Highland Park 7:15 PM @ McKinney Stars Center
Southlake Carroll VS. Mansfield ISD 7:30 PM @ Euless Stars Center
Prosper VS. Plano East 8:15 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center
GCISD VS. Flower Mound 8:45 PM @ Euless Stars Center
Garland ISD VS. Frisco ISD 9:00 PM @ McKinney Stars Center
Bishop Lynch VS. Richardson/Rockwall 9:00 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center
FM Marcus VS. Midlothian 9:15 PM @ Euless Stars Center
I don't know if I am still conformable that they can name a stadium with the company name but at least it is part of the business.
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